T+L Reports: Art of Paris

Palaces with grand prices or cozy yet cramped pensions—those were the kinds of hotels that Paris had always done best. What was missing, concluded interior designer Frédéric Méchiche, was a reasonably priced, high-style extension of home. The graphic, mod look he dreamed up for Paris's latest must-stay address, Hôtel Le A, is certainly distinctive: the 26 tiny rooms come with unusual details (a white lounge beneath a glass roof, zebra-stripe tiles above the bathtub) that maximize every nook of the six-floor town house. The fashion tribe has adopted Le A for its proximity to chichi shops on Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg-St.-Honoré and for its unobtrusive staff. But what really set the hotel apart are the paintings by French contemporary art star Fabrice Hybert: major works line the walls, and every guest quarter has its own original. Hôtel Le A, 4 Rue d'Artois, Eighth Arr.; 33-1/42-56-99-99; www.hotel-le-a.com; doubles from $295.
—Sarah Raper Larenaudie